A quick report-back on my progress in getting $12,000 free money from Fleet for one year thru its 0% APR balance-transfer offer:
First, Fleet has been very swift in processing my new card. I applied for the card on the 5th, and by 10th, I already saw the balance transferred to my credit card accounts at Citibank and MBNA. By 12th, I received the plastic in the my mailbox.
Second, my experience to get the cash from Citibank and MBNA is smooth too. For Citibank, the credit refund function is available online, and it takes around 48 hours for Citi to approve my credit refund request; a check should be en route to my home now. For MBNA, it takes a phone call of 6 minutes to get the credit refund and I was promised a check will be on my way in 7 days. (If I need to play with this 0% APR balance transfer again, I will definitely direct the money to Citi -- I always prefer online transactions.)
Because I actively use both cards, and the balance transfer offset some of the balances from my purchases, I was able to get around $3,600 from Citi (vs a balance transfer of $4,000) and $6,800 from MBNA (vs a balance transfer of $8,000). Of course such offsetting will reduce my payment next month by the same amount.
Happy saving!